Heather Wright/The Independent

Jenny Redick says recreation user fees for non-Brooke-Alvinston residents could drive people away just when the municipality is trying to raise money.

The councillor made the comments Feb.26, two weeks after the mayor suggested the fees during a council meeting.

Mayor David Ferguson requested council support a staff report getting the names and addresses of the children in recreation programs with the intent of getting their own municipalities to pay a fee for the service.

“We cannot keep having our taxpayers pay for somebody else’s kid outside the community.

“One would need names: first are they coming in or not coming in, and if there’s not kids coming in, that’s a moot point. If there is a pile of kids coming in, we got to start to address the issue,” Ferguson said at the time while asking for the report.

The motion for the report was carried, but Redick wanted to make it clear she is not in favour of the idea.

“I think it is going to drive people away from this community, but we want people to come to our community,” she said. “And with open borders in hockey, now they can go anywhere they want. Why would they come to a municipality that doesn’t want them?

“People that come outside this municipality are already generating revenue elsewhere in the community. I feel it would be a very big mistake if we would even consider something like this.”

Redick says she has heard from people who are “disgusted” with the municipality after reading about the idea in The Independent. 

“We’re trying to be positive with this huge fundraising event that we’re trying to put on,” she added making reference to the campaign to raise half of the $1.95 million cost of the new arena floor. 

“I think it puts a little bit of a sour grapes in some people’s mouths.”

Redick added some municipalities may have tried to collect recreation fees from neighbouring municipalities, but Brooke-Alvinston doesn’t have to follow their lead.

Councillor Craig Sanders agreed, saying he too, did not want the report suggested by the mayor.

It’s not clear when the report will be coming to council for consideration.